First-dollar coverage
The first move in the plan is the rare free win: a membership-style care benefit your people can use from day one — $0 telehealth, $0 mental-health support, and first-dollar primary care, labs, imaging, and prescriptions — funded by a payroll-tax structure that has been in the tax code since 1978. Here's exactly how it works.
What “first-dollar” actually means
Most health benefits make employees clear a deductible before anything is covered — care effectively costs full price until they've spent thousands out of pocket. A first-dollar benefit is the opposite: it pays from the very first dollar. There's nothing to meet, no claim to fight, no bill to dread.
This step installs exactly that. It's a membership-style care benefit — not an insurance policy — and the distinction matters: because it isn't insurance, it layers on top of whatever coverage you already offer (or stands alone if you offer none today) without disturbing anything.
What your employees get from day one
Everything below runs from a simple app on their phone — no ID cards, no claim forms, no deductible math.
- $0 virtual urgent care and primary care — talk to a doctor in minutes, day or night
- $0 mental-health support and crisis telecounseling
- Everyday generic prescriptions at no cost
- Labs and imaging — MRIs, CT scans — at deeply discounted cash rates
- A channel to put real questions in front of real physicians before big decisions
The engine: how a benefit funds itself
No magic — just a tax structure most brokers never set up, because there's no commission in it for them.
The benefit is elected through a Section 125 “cafeteria plan” — a pre-tax payroll structure that has been part of the federal tax code since 1978. Elections run through payroll before taxes are calculated.
Because those elections are pre-tax, the wages subject to payroll tax shrink — and your company's FICA obligation drops with them. In a typical census that's roughly $750 per employee per year.
The program itself costs about $55 per employee per month. Set the two side by side and the reduction is larger than the cost — which is why the benefit is designed to cost the company nothing on net.
From signed agreement to a live program is typically 45–60 days — and that's about when the payroll-tax savings start showing up as real cash flow, not a projection on a slide.
The math, on a company your size
Slide to your headcount. The annual figure is the payroll-tax reduction this structure typically generates — the savings that fund the program and turn cash flow positive in 45–60 days.
Illustrative only — your census (headcount, wages, participation) sets the real numbers, and they go in writing before you pay anything.
The quiet second win: workers' comp
Workers'-compensation premiums are rated off your payroll. When the Section 125 structure reduces taxable payroll, many employers see their workers'-comp premium fall too — in some cases by 20–40%. It varies by state and classification codes, so treat it as upside rather than a promise until your numbers are run.
Built on honest cash prices
Ever had a pharmacist tell you a prescription is cheaper if you just pay cash instead of running it through insurance? That quiet truth is the foundation this whole benefit is built on: a physician-run network that negotiates real cash prices for care, then hands them to your people at $0 or close to it.
Illustrative examples of cash-pay pricing — actual prices vary by market and provider.
Why employees use it — even when they have insurance
A fair question: if your people already have coverage, why would they touch this? Because on a typical plan, an office visit, an urgent-care stop, or a prescription still carries a copay — and imaging before the deductible is met can cost the full negotiated price. Here, those same everyday needs are $0 or close to it.
One honest trade-off: dollars spent through the program don't count toward the insurance deductible. For everyday care the cash price is usually so much lower that it wins anyway — and for the big things, the insurance plan is still there doing its job.
There's a knock-on effect for the company, too: every visit handled here is a claim that never hits your insurance plan. Over time, a lighter claims picture can help stabilize renewals — a directional benefit, not a guaranteed one.
Is this actually legit?
Skepticism is the normal first reaction — “too good to be true” is usually the first thing owners say. But there's no exotic instrument here: Section 125 has been in the tax code since 1978. What's newer is the program built on top of it — a physician-run care network paired with a tax-and-compliance firm, with the tax treatment reviewed and supported by opinion letters from major national accounting firms.
Revival Health adds its own layer of discipline: an ERISA attorney reviews everything we implement, and your own CPA and counsel get full documentation before anything goes live. Most CPAs get it fast — more than one client has signed on because their accountant pushed them to, not despite it.
What implementation looks like
Measured in weeks, not quarters — and nothing about your current plan changes.
A simple census file is all it takes to evaluate fit and model your exact numbers — headcount, wages, and participation drive everything.
A specialist walks you — and your CPA, if you like — through the mechanics, the compliance documentation, and your modeled savings before you commit to anything.
The Section 125 election is configured with your payroll provider, and employees get a plain-English enrollment walkthrough. The program only works if your people understand what they're getting — so education is built in, not bolted on.
Employees start using $0 care from day one, and the payroll-tax reduction starts accruing immediately — which is why cash flow typically turns positive inside the first two months.
No insurance today? This is your first benefit
Plenty of 5-to-30-person companies can't justify a group plan at all. Step 1 doesn't care: it stands entirely on its own, gives your team real day-one care, and finally puts a benefits line on your recruiting pitch — at roughly zero net cost. It's the single easiest way for a small company to start acting like a bigger one.
What clients say about this step
“We were presented with a proposal that outlined the savings for 132 employees. Our company achieved substantial annual savings, exceeding a quarter million dollars in both FICA and workers' compensation.”
“We are now realizing annual savings exceeding $140,000. Furthermore, the program has been exceedingly well-received by my employees.”
Step 1 questions, answered
Where this step fits.
See what Step 1 is worth on your census.
Virtual John can ballpark your payroll-tax math in about 90 seconds — and the real John puts the exact number in writing.